By Ronan 
We all know the importance of electricity in our everyday lives. It is used for lighting, heating, cooling, refrigeration, for operating appliances, transportation and electronics. There are two types of electricity: static electricity and current electricity.
Static electricity is when the electric charges build up on the surface of the material. Current electricity is when there is a flow of electrons. Electricity is produced when the electrons move and are measured in Amperes.
With all these uses, electricity can also be dangerous. Following are the hazards with electricity:
- Coming in contact with live parts that cause shocks and burns
- Electric faults resulting in fire breakouts
- Electricity could be a source of ignition
How to reduce the risk?
Following are the ways to reduce the risk:
- Reducing the voltage
- Using fuses
- Using equipment that is earthed
What is earthing and grounding?
Earthing means connecting the part which does not carry current under normal conditions to earth. And grounding is known as connecting the part which carries current under normal conditions.
Difference between earthing and grounding
Following is the table explaining the difference between earthing and grounding:
| Earthing | Grounding |
| Earthing is done for the non-current carrying connection like the body of equipment to the earth | Grounding is done for the current carrying part like neutral of the transformer to the ground |
| The green colour wire is used for earthing | For grounding, a black colour wire is used |
| Earthing is done to protect equipment and human from shock | Grounding is done to balance the extra load. |
| The earth electrode is placed between the equipment body and the pit which is under the ground | Grounding wire is placed between neutral of the equipment and the earth.
|
| The system is in physical contact with the ground with zero potential | There is no physical contact with the ground and the current is not zero on the ground. |
Interested to learn more difference between concepts and other concepts like an electric field of a dipole, gravitational potential energy, etc, visit BYJU’S.